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Brand Africa Case Study MMS

What are the main problems and issues relating to the branding of a place?

Entities within the defined “place” are at competition with each other and so it is difficult to come up with a collective image in such a scenario, where one place is trying to differentiate itself from its competitors. E.g. Cities within a country will compete with each other to attract tourists.  As seen in the case of Africa, what benefits one place’s brand could be at the expense of another and it is a more difficult challenge to change the perception of a place than it is of a product or company. It is complex because the place is neither owned nor controlled by a single entity, and so everyone living within the area has some influence on the brand of the area and more of than not there is a lack of agreement between each person involved.  Unlike failing products, places can’t just be discontinued and withdrawn from the market, re-launched or replaced by new products. There needs to be effective communication between all stakeholders of the brand as would be in a corporate brand.

To what extent might the concept of branding be applicable to a ‘continent’ such as Africa?

Place branding is still applicable as has been mentioned in the case study. The continent requires effective branding of its identity if it is able to attract investors. If the continent doesn’t direct is image, its brand will be made for it and this can be a great challenge to redirect. As mentioned above, it is more difficult for such a large continent to create an effective brand due to the sheer number of stakeholders.  

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